Skull-1

WET SANDING helps with the seams in a huge way. Make sure you have the parts you are sanding assembled if they are compliments--i.e. arm halves, shoulder halves, fuselage halves, etc.--because you won't get them down properly unless you do. On some of mine I don't care about the seams as much as I should. I guess I am impatient to get them on the shelf... But it *IS* worth the time. I use almost exclusively RUSTOLEUM products. Rustoleum Painter's Choice is really very good. For clear coats and dull coats I think Mr. Hobby is the best.

Thanks! First thing is first... Start with a Jetfire so you can take advantage of the short nose. I usually prep every single part by sanding it thoroughly, ESPECIALLY anywhere that parts touch or rub. If you don't prep these areas by adding some clearance for the paint that will be applied you'll wind up with lots of transformation scars. I took the nose blisters and cut them off with a razor, then moved them down, filled the seams, and sanded them. This is a tough thing to do because of the lines where the nose halves come together. Thorough sanding will again save you a lot of misery. I'm not a firm believer in primer. I think it can help, but if you use a quality paint it is not necessary and can be a detriment to keeping paint on the toy because it will make the overall paint applied thicker. Finding custom parts is a must unless someone has some VT-1 armor lying around. Pine-Sol works well for stripping paint. I use that on areas I can't get the stuff off with sanding. What else??? Once everything is done... Clear coat. Apply decals. Micro Sol the decals. Clear coat. (Dull coat if necessary.) This makes the decals appear painted on. Decide what mods you want to use and go for it... Best of luck and keep us posted.

WOW!

Different angles... More paint to come and decals...yadda yadda yadda...

Here is the latest. The pods on the wings are 55mm GU-11 gunpods without the grips. Going to add rotary barrels to them. This is now VF-1F (VF-1D) as opposed to a VF-1J. More to come.

Yeah, not canon. It will be a VF-1F (which is basically a VF-1D with electronics and other good stuff). I plan to put HARM, HARPOON, SHRIKE, etc. (modified) under the wings and German Air Force markings on it. Hopefully it will turn out. I guess I am fresh out of ideas! LOL IAF Valkyrie coming up next...

Extended nose and paint added... Nose blisters to be moved. Swing bars and other improvements to come.

True, true. Hence my requesting of you guys the impossible!

Perhaps. (EDIT IN: There are numerous "hacks" available with custom flood controls for VB but I have no idea what all the possibilities are.) I have no actual hands-on experience with either one so I admit to not knowing--though I will find out. Meanwhile the smart money is probably on your interpretation. I find them all fairly similar. There are things I prefer with VB and things I prefer here. I will say this however: R*botech.com has absolutely without question THE *WORST* BBS in the world. Just horrid.

No I wasn't. I was asking you to slave the thing to a button because other BBSes allow it. When informed it was not possible I didn't repeat the request. You will note that the following buttons trigger flood control: - Post Reply - Post New Topic - Fast Reply (Advanced) While the following does not: - Fast Reply (Basic) This implied to me that it was a selectable function. Now I know it isn't. Oh well. Bravo to VBulletin for being ahead of IPB in the development curve then. Apparently there is with VB. How about this: I'll try not to be so sensitive to what you write and you, if it crosses your mind to do so, be sure to put a wink or smiley after a joke so I won't take it the wrong way. That's the generally accepted convention for jokes on the Internet because the type-written word can often come across far harsher than intended. Considering how we have not always seen eye to eye it would go a long way toward showing no intended malice (if such a thing is a consideration). There is no ill-will on my side any longer. Don't sweat it. I added it shortly after I posted the note because it was apparently lost on everyone when posted earlier in the thread. I noted also that my tone came across harsher than intended as originally worded and wanted to be sure that the tone I was sending out was the tone you received. Sorry for the confusion. I want to emphasize that the nature of my post was not an attack and that I do appreciate your help on various matters despite what appears to be a less than cordial interaction in public. Cheers!

The lasers were originally an "S" set. I have not tightened the screws yet, hence the seams.

Come on, H. I posted the information because it was stated/suggested to me that no other bulletin board software worked the way I proposed (see below). I merely set the record straight, that's all, bud. Let me give you an analogy from my perspective so you'll see what I was thinking. A word processor is a word processor is a word processor. So too is a spreadsheet a spreadsheet a spreadsheet. Although they don't all work identically they *DO* all work SIMILARLY. My suggestion that you slave things to the submit button is akin to assuming that a word processor from ACME has a feature allowing you to center text just as the processor from WIDGETS does. An incorrect assumption on my part I freely admitted. As for the comment that seems to have you riled up at me, I wasn't speaking to what IPB could or couldn't do. I was responding to the incorrect assertion that no BBS has a flood control slaved to the submit button when there are some that in fact do. I don't have intimate knowledge of any BB software so you'll have to forgive my request for something that ins't possible with IPB. My bad all the way. I merely responded to a comment and stated a truth. Nobody is trying to pick a fight, but if you are going to call me out in public then please at least keep the facts straight. I was not attacking, criticising, or fighting with anyone on the staff. I was politely asking for a setting change and then suffered a couple of wisecracks at my expense that were unwarranted in my view. I freely admitted that I was unaware of IPB's capabilities and merely made a POLITE request for an adjustment to the flood contol. How that has become such a scandal is perplexing at best. If anyone is trying to pick a fight here I assure you it is not me. At least Azrael said he was unaware of such a thing. The "We'll get our software developers right on that" crack was a bit over the line I'd say (though I admit it was funny). Hurin, you and I have been civil for some time now. Let's keep it that way. I have no beef with you and I don't think you have cause for one with me of late. At the end of the day I can only say I'm sorry you have to resort to flood controls because people are trying to screw with the site. You guys are doing a fine job and I appreciate your efforts. Thanks for trying, regardless. A special thanks to you Hurin for responding so quickly to my initial request for a change to the settings.

Yes it was. The dude was insulting my intelligence by pointing out the obvious fact that this is an IPB site (as if I can't read that on my own). Fast reply won't work for starting a new topic though will it? Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information. The error returned was: Flood control is enabled on this board, please wait 30 seconds before replying or posting a new topic At least I have a handle on the settings now. Oh well. Stupid flood bots ruin things for all.

I will post pics when my camera recharges. Take the S laser turret apart and pull the laser blisters off. The black part. Carefully remove the lasers and sand the thing smooth. File a pair of lasers to fit the bubble. JB Weld. Sand. Paint. Now you have one laser attached to each side instead of two and they look like they should. The standard Bandai "J" lasers have a very small swivel base/disc on each side. The "S" one is bigger and looks right.

Yes, sir, I do. I was trying to "POST A NEW TOPIC" though so the flood control got me. Will "FAST REPLY" do the same?

Hey, no offense, but the tone is a little harsh. I'm aware of what you use. I'm not an expert on IPB, so relax. I wasn't trying to insult the board, you, or any other moderator, but rather, asked a legitimate question. If one program can do it then one can be inclined to presume that others do as well. I was wrong. The chippiness isn't warranted, regardless. Meanwhile, the 30 second setting is still a bit annoying. Any accomodations that can be made to help the users out are appreciated. Hurin had it setup really nicely not too long ago (when I first mentioned it).

Anyone ever thought of cutting a slot into the right index finger on the 1/55 to get the gunpod to fit snugly so it looks like the finger is through the trigger guard? Interesting huh?

Well that's how the forum on ProPilotworld.com works. Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.7 Copyright ©2000 - 2007, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. All flood controls are slaved to the send button not the new thread/new post button. I presumed (perhaps incorrectly) that you could do the same here.

Flood control is up to 30 seconds again. It was lower before. What happened? I'm trying to post two (now three because of this thread) items before I head out the door. Here's what it does: PLEASE WAIT 30 SECS BEFORE POSTING A NEW TOPIC. Can we perhaps set it so I can at least get the dialogue box up in order to begin typing? IOW, slave the flood control to the SUBMIT button...

The problem is the base of the turret will crumble under the stress. The resin in these is very gritty as opposed to some I have seen that have more plasticity. I need someone who works with the plastic-like resin to help me cast some of these parts so they have at least a LITTLE bit of flexibility. I can provide the parts if necessary.

...Bandai Spares? Still looking for a good quality, quasi-plastic recast or Bandai original "J" Head. Anyone have any? I have the Beers versions and they are really nice to look at but the lasers are fragile......... I know they're not going to hold up with my kids in the house. Anyone recasting lasers at least?

I'll tell you what, after seeing that model I am inclined to call the VF-2/SS *MY* favorite. That thing looks awesome as shown here. Holy smokes!

Changed my mind on this one. It's going to be a VF-1F Wild Weasel. Two Seater. Short nose. Need to find a 1/48 or 1/72 Shrike/Harm Weapon Set. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. LOL

Okay, what's the story behind the F-84?

SWEET! SWEET! SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!